Coral reefs can experience extreme changes in salinity following storms and heavy rainfall events, which cause severe physiological stress and can ultimately, lead to coral death.
In an attempt to simulate different magnitudes of storm events researchers at the University of Technology Sydney have been investigating the effects of short-term fresh water input on important coral species from the Great Barrier Reef. Measuring the anti-oxidant system responses in corals they found differences in the tolerance and sensitivity of each species to lowered salinity, highlighting how storm events may be important drivers in future reef species composition.
Chief Investigator, Dr Katherina Petrou says that the results of the study, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, are “important with respect to climate change”.
“We expect the intensity and frequency of storm events to escalate, increasing the fresh water input to coastal reef systems and intensifying the pressure on an already vulnerable ecosystem. This study provides new foresight into how our future reefs might look, where some species will weather the weather better than others.”
Low salinity can induce a stress response in both the coral host and the microscopic plants, algal symbionts, that are vital for coral health.
The research team, including Dr Victor Beltran from the Australian Institute of Marine Science looked at whether the molecule DMSP has a functional role in the antioxidant stress response of corals. Corals are among the most active producers of DMSP (dimethylsulfiopropionate): a key molecule in the marine realm, influencing cloud formation and predator behaviour, but the function of which in corals is little understood.
Lead author of the study Stephanie Gardner is a PhD candidate in the Plant Functional Biology and Climate Change Cluster
Funding
UTS Plant Functional Biology and Climate Change Cluster (C3), School of Life Sciences, APA
Publication
Gardner SG, Nielsen DA,Laczka O, Shimmon R, Beltran VH, Ralph PJ,Petrou K. 2016 Dimethylsulfoniopropionate,superoxide dismutase and glutathione as stress response indicators in three coralsunder short-term hyposalinity stress.
Proc. R. Soc. B 20152418. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.2418